


Happy Birthday, Riley

by badbeat



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Presents, F/F, LGBTQ Character, Tears will be shed, but that's to be expected with ellie, mainly from the point of view of riley, mild swearing, pining/one-sided?, sensitive riley?, short and sweet, tbh they're kids in a shitty apocalyptic world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 02:53:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10527339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badbeat/pseuds/badbeat
Summary: a birthday gift to the coolest girl in the world.





	

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by QueenVirgo's "Happy Birthday, Steven" fanfic.

Ellie tugged on Riley’s hand, leading her down the dormitory hall with the excitement of a toddler waking up on Christmas morning. Waking up to Ellie shaking her out of much-needed slumber left Riley in a groggy and pissed off state, and she struggled to keep her eyes from rolling as Ellie turned her head and hoarsely whispered, “Quit dragging your fuckin’ feet; you’ll wake everybody up.”  
Traipsing down the hall with her friend, Riley wondered what the hell was so important that Ellie felt the need to sneak into her room and jolt her awake. The last time Ellie took her on one of their late-night escapades, they’d almost gotten swarmed outside the quarantine zone by a pack of runners. Gooseflesh rippled across Riley’s arms as she recalled how close Ellie had come to getting grabbed by one of them. They’d managed to take a sharp left turn into an alley and climb through a hole in the fence to get back to the compound, but the experience left Riley shaken up and less than eager to leave the quarantine zone anytime soon.  
“We’re not leaving the quarantine, right?” Riley tried to keep the worry out of her voice. “It’s really dark out, and you know what happened last time.”  
Ellie stopped and faced Riley, furrowing her brows as she said, “No, the surprise is up on the roof, but the shit that happened last time was a once in a million years type of thing. Not gonna happen again if we’re more careful.”  
Riley visibly relaxed, feeling as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She jogged in front of Ellie, almost dragging her as she pushed through the double doors leading to the stairwell.  
“In that case,” Riley said with a smile, “let’s go see what my surprise is.”  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“Close your eyes, okay?”  
Riley stifled a groan and stretched out her legs from under her.  
“Are you kidding me, Ellie?”  
“Can’t you just do it? I can’t give you the surprise if you don’t shut your eyes.” Ellie stuck out her bottom lip in an uncharacteristic pout, and Riley couldn’t help but laugh. Ellie took this as a good sign, venturing to joke, “I just want to do something nice in a world that’s shittier than the bottom of an outhouse. Is that a crime, Riley? To make my best friend happy?”  
“Very funny,” Riley replied, but her heart skipped a beat at hearing Ellie refer to her as “friend.” Of course we’re friends, she convinced herself. Nothing more, nothing less, and it’s stupid to think we’re anything else but best friends. Just friends. But Riley remembered how close their faces had gotten when they’d come back from their near-death experience a few months ago, and how soft Ellie’s lips looked, and how tousled her hair had gotten from being snagged in the fence, and how-  
Riley closed her eyes, refusing to entertain the notion any further. She began to lose focus, feeling the lull of sleep washing over her. She pictured she was back between the sheets of her warm bed, having no worries and dreaming the world they were born into had something more to offer. Riley fell further into her trancelike state at the sound of Ellie softly humming as she gathered Riley’s gift. Just as Riley was about to fall asleep, she felt Ellie’s warm breath on her face. She opened her eyes to Ellie’s toothy grin a few inches from her face, and her chest tightened with longing.  
“Happy birthday, Riley,” Ellie whispered, holding a haphazardly wrapped gift in her hands. Riley’s breath hitched in her throat, and she coughed to clear it out before gathering the courage to look Ellie in the eye.  
“Uh, thanks,” she managed to say. Ellie looked expectantly at her, and Riley awkwardly took the gift and began to unwrap it, trying to make casual conversation as she did so.  
“Where’d you get this gift wrap from, anyways?”  
“The mall,” Ellie said, plopping herself down on the rooftop. “I go on my own sometimes because I know how scared you are. And hey, it actually works out pretty well, because you being a chicken let me get you a surprise birthday gift without you finding out.”  
Riley froze and looked up at Ellie, who was oblivious to Riley’s change in demeanor.  
“You go out on your own to find stuff? What do you expect to do if you get in trouble and I’m not there?” Riley tightened her grip on Ellie’s gift, guilt washing over her as she realized what it meant. “You really went out to get me something after what happened last time?”  
Tears started prickling in the corners of Riley’s eyes, and Ellie jumped up to console her.  
"Hey, come on, dude; it's not that serious. I just wanted to get you a birthday gift. Any decent pal would do it. Anything for the coolest girl in the world, right?"  
Ellie's frantic attempt at calming Riley down served as the final straw for Riley's floodgates to open, and she began crying. Ellie was at a complete loss for what to do, finally deciding on grabbing the gift from Riley's hands and ripping the giftwrap off of it, mumbling, "Don't worry; you're gonna love it, Riley. It'll be worth finding out I almost died getting it for you." Ellie looked up to see if her joke cheered Riley up any, but realized it wasn't the best thing to say when she saw the tear-streaked face of her best friend looking back at her.  
"Here." Amidst the flurry of wrapping paper, Ellie managed to crack open the small velvet box holding Riley's birthday gift. She tentatively held it up to Riley, who was wiping away the remaining tears from her puffy cheeks. Riley gingerly took the necklace out of its holding place, sucking in her breath as she realized how delicate it felt. She held it up to the scant moonlight, managing to make out bits and pieces of what was reflected by the stars and their light. Riley hesitated before quietly asking, "Put it on me. I can't reach."

In an instant, Ellie got up and sat behind Riley, reaching over her shoulders for the necklace and fumbling with its clasp. The clumsy movements of Ellie's hands made Riley feel at peace, and for a moment, she felt like she was exactly where she needed to be. Her longing for something different, something potentially better always fell silent when Ellie was by her side. It was moments like these where she felt whole, complete, like the universe willfully fell into place just for her and the one she loved.  
Riley looked up at the sky, barely making out the swirls of indigo and black as she felt Ellie's fingers tickle the back of her neck and finally clasp the necklace.  
"Does it feel okay?" Ellie asked, setting her hands on Riley's shoulders and giving them a reassuring squeeze.  
"Yeah," Riley softly replied. "It does."  
"You sure?" Ellie asked. "Not too tight or loose? You know I don't know how to do girly shit like this."  
Riley let out a small chuckle before scooching over and laying down, holding the pendant up to the light of the moon to get a better look at it. Ellie followed suit, laying down next to her and watching Riley examine the gift.  
"Thank you," Riley whispered, setting the pendant back down on her chest.  
"Anything for you, Riley," Ellie murmured, her eyelids heavy with sleep. It wasn't long before Ellie dozed off, leaving Riley alone in her thoughts of the world and how habitable it could be sometimes.


End file.
